Read Ebook: The English Language by Latham R G Robert Gordon

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Just as in the United States the English came in contact with an American, whilst in New Holland it comes in contact with an Australian language, so was the Latin language of Rome engrafted, sometimes on a Celtic, sometimes on a Gothic, and sometimes on some other stock. The nature of the original language must always be borne in mind.

From Italy, its original seat, the Latin was extended in the following chronological order:--

The French languages of the Transalpine division require to be more minutely exhibited.

Between the provincial French of the north and the provincial French of the south, there is a difference, at the present day, at least of dialect, and perhaps of language. This is shown by the following specimens: the first from the canton of Arras, on the confines of Flanders; the second, from the department of Var, in Provence. The date of each is A.D. 1807.

THE SAME.

Practically speaking, although in the central parts of France the northern and southern dialects melt each into the other, the Loire may be considered as a line of demarcation between two languages; the term language being employed because, in the Middle Ages, whatever may be their real difference, the northern tongue and the southern tongue were dealt with not as separate dialects, but as distinct languages--the southern being called Proven?al, the northern Norman-French.

Of these two languages the southern or Proven?al approaches the dialects of Spain; the Valencian of Spain and the Catalonian of Spain being Proven?al rather than standard Spanish or Castilian.

The southern French is sometimes called the Langue d'Oc, and sometimes the Limousin.

Pro Deo amur et pro Xristian poblo et nostro commun salvament, d'ist di en avant, in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat, si salvarai eo cist meon fradre Karlo, et in ajudha et in cadhuna cosa, si cum om per dreit son fradra salvar dist, in o quid il mi altresi fazet: et ab Ludher nul plaid nunquam prindrai qui, meon vol, cist meon fradre Karle in damno sit.

Si Loduuigs sagrament, que son fradre Karlo jurat, conservat; et Karlus, meos sendra, de suo part non lo stanit; si io returnar non l'int pois, ne io, ne neuls cui eo returnar int pois, in nulla ajudha contra Lodhuwig num li iver.

Pour de Dieu l'amour et pour du Chr?tien peuple et le notre commun salut, de ce jour en avant, en quant que Dieu savoir et pouvoir me donne assur?ment sauverai moi ce mon fr?re Charles, et en aide, et en chacune chose, ainsi comme homme par droit son fr?re sauver doit, en cela que lui ? moi pareillement fera: et avec Lothaire nul trait? ne onques prendrai qui, ? mon vouloir, ? ce mien fr?re Charles en dommage soit.

Si Louis le serment, qu'? son fr?re Charles il jure, conserve; Charles, mon seigneur, de sa part ne le maintient; si je d?tourner ne l'en puis, ni moi, ne nul que je d?tourner en puis, en nulle aide contre Louis ne lui irai.

? 144. The Norman-French, spoken from the Loire to the confines of Flanders, and called also the Langue d'Oyl, differed from the Proven?al in the following circumstances.

It is the Norman-French that most especially bears upon the history of the English language.

The proportion of the original Celtic in the present languages of France has still to be determined. It may, however, be safely asserted, that at a certain epoch between the first and fifth centuries, the language of Gaul was more Roman and less Celtic than that of Britain.

SPECIMEN.

Un jur fu Karl?un al Seint-Denis muster, Reout prise sa corune, en croiz seignat sun chef, E ad ceinte sa esp?e: li pons fud d'or mer. Dux i out e demeines e baruns e chevalers. Li emper?res reguardet la reine sa muillers. Ele fut ben corun?e al plus bel e as meuz. Il la prist par le poin desuz un oliver, De sa pleine parole la prist ? reisuner: "Dame, v?istes unkes humc nul de desuz ceil Tant ben s?ist esp?e ne la corone el chef? Uncore cunquerrei-jo citez ot mun espeez." Cele ne fud pas sage, folement respondeit: "Emperere," dist-ele, trop vus poez preiser. "Uncore en sa-jo on ki plus se fait l?ger, Quant il porte corune entre ses chevalers; Kaunt il met sur sa teste, plus belement lui set."

THE POSITION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS INDO-EUROPEAN.

? 145. In each of the three preceding chapters a separate stock of languages has been considered; and it has been shown, in some degree, how far languages of the same stock differ from, or agree with, each other.

Furthermore, in each stock there has been some particular language that especially illustrates the English.

In the Gothic stock there has been the Anglo-Saxon; in the Celtic the Welsh; and in the Classical the Anglo-Norman.

Nevertheless, the importance of the languages of these three divisions is by no means equal. The Gothic tongues supply the basis of our investigations. The Celtic afford a few remnants of that language which the Anglo-Saxon superseded. The Anglo-Norman language exhibits certain superadded elements.

? 146. Over and above the Gothic, Celtic, and Classical languages, there are others that illustrate the English; and some of our commonest grammatical inflections can be but half understood unless we go beyond the groups already enumerated.

The Gothic, Celtic , and Classical stocks are but subordinate divisions of a wider class. Each has a sufficient amount of mutual affinities to be illustrative of each other, and each is contained, along with two other groups of equal value, under a higher denomination in philology.

What other philological groups are connected with each other, and with the languages already noticed, by the same affinities which connect the Gothic, Celtic , and Classical stocks? Whatever these languages may be, it is nearly certain that they will be necessary, on some point or other, for the full illustration of the English.

All Indo-European languages illustrate each other.

The other divisions of the great Indo-European group of languages are as follows:--

"To draw an illustration from the common ties of relationship, as between man and man, it is clear that a family may be enlarged in two ways.

"Now it is believed that the distinction between increase by the way of real addition, and increase by the way of verbal extension, has not been sufficiently attended to. Yet, that it should be more closely attended to, is evident; since, in mistaking a verbal increase for a real one, the whole end and aim of classification is overlooked. The publication of Dr. Prichard's Eastern Origin of the Celtic Nations, in 1831, supplied philologists with the most definite addition that has perhaps, yet been made to ethnographical philology.

This, along with other reasons indicated elsewhere, induces the present writer to admit an affinity between the Celtic and the other so-called Indo-European tongues, but to deny that it is the same affinity which connects the Iranian, Classical, Gothic and Slavonic groups.

HISTORY AND ANALYSIS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

HISTORICAL AND LOGICAL ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

? 149. The Celtic elements of the present English fall into five classes.

The Danish that became incorporated with our language, under the reign of Canute and his sons, may be called the direct Danish element, in contradistinction to the indirect Danish of ?? 144, 155.

The above-given list is from Guest's English Rhythms . It constitutes that portion of the elements of our language which may be called the Latin of the second, or Saxon period.

Previous, however, to that period we find notices of intercourse between the two countries.

FIRST CLASS.

SECOND CLASS.

THIRD CLASS.

FIRST CLASS.

SECOND CLASS.

? 162. The extent to which a language, which like the English, at one and the same time requires names for many objects, comes in contact with the tongues of half the world, and has, moreover, a great power of incorporating foreign elements, derives fresh words from varied sources, may be seen from the following incomplete notice of the languages which have, in different degrees, supplied it with new terms.

The investigation of this is a matter of literary curiosity rather than any important branch of philology.

The ultimate known origin of many common words sometimes goes back to a great date, and points to extinct languages--

The value of forms like these consists in their showing that language is affected by false etymologies as well as by true ones.

This leads to some observations respecting--

Hybridism is the commonest fault that accompanies the introduction of new words. The hybrid additions to the English language are most numerous in works on science.

It must not, however, be concealed that several well established words are hybrid; and that, even in the writings of the classical Roman authors, there is hybridism between the Latin and the Greek.

Incompletion of the radical is one of the commonest causes of words being coined faultily. It must not, however, be concealed, that even in the classical writers, we have examples of incompletion of the radical.

Let the present language of England consist of 40,000 words. Of these let 30,000 be Anglo-Saxon, 5,000 Anglo-Norman, 100 Celtic, 10 Latin of the first, 20 Latin of the second, and 30 Latin of the third period, 50 Scandinavian, and the rest miscellaneous. In this case the language is considered according to the historical origin of the words that compose it, and the analysis is an historical analysis.

But it is very evident that the English, or any other language, is capable of being contemplated in another view, and that the same number of words may be very differently classified. Instead of arranging them according to the languages whence they are derived, let them be disposed according to the meanings that they convey. Let it be said, for instance, that out of 40,000 words, 10,000 are the names of natural objects, that 1000 denote abstract ideas, that 1000 relate to warfare, 1000 to church matters, 500 to points of chivalry, 1000 to agriculture, and so on through the whole. In this case the analysis is not historical but logical; the words being classed not according to their origin, but according to their meaning.

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